car question

[Mortanis]

Hey, I have a car question. I recently bought a new car (I got a 2007 Acura MDX) and inside the gas tank cover there is a little sign that says "Premium fuel only". Do I really need to put only premium gas into it? My old car said to put only premuim gas into it too, but I put in the regular cheapo gas all the time and nothing happened.

Is it bad for the engine or something? I did notice that my old car didn't go a fast with the cheap gas in it as it did when I had premium in it. But is it actually harmful to the car to not put in premium?

I don't want to screw up my new car or anything, so I'll buy the premium gas if it is 100% necessary, but I'd rather not. Gas prices suck.

Thank you for any information, I'm not a 'car guy' so I don't know that much about this stuff.

 

[Zyndara]

This guy says not all cars with that label require it:

http://www.bankrate.com/msnbc/news/car-advice/20080606_premium_gas_a1.asp

 

[Kurgon]

Go with what is in the manual not what is on the fuel cover.

 

[hellstorm]

Go with what is in the manual not what is on the fuel cover.

this good advice.

 

[Snoochrammer]

The 3.7L v-tec has a 10:1 compression ratio. High compression engines need premium gas. Cheap gas ignites more quickly than premium. When you burn it in a high-compression engine it will frequently ignite too early, i.e. before the end of the compression stroke. This causes "knock" which is very bad for the engine. In most modern vehicles the computer will sense the knock and adjust the ignition timing accordingly, but you will take a BIG performance hit.

 

[Anttaru]

Sunoco has 4 grades of Gasoline, including the richest octane in the market (Ultra 94). That's all i put in my bike. I've put other premium fuel in my tank and it feilt pretty much the same, still i go for the highest and most expensive of the bunch, I think only cause Bikes are cheap to refill